Alone in the dark
by Mystrothedefender
Summary: Jokers back-story is often talked about, but it's his first year as Joker that really tells his story.


Wow.

Hard to believe it had already been a month.

He had been Batman for a whole month.

Bruce started to smile, it had been a whole month already, and he had done so much.

The streets were already cleaner, the criminals quieter, and Bruce felt better in himself.

He grabbed his cape, all ready for another night of crime fighting.

"Alfred, I should be in by about 3, if I'm not back by 4 give me a call." He said happily as he started to stroll towards his brand new Bat-mobile.

"Of course Master Bruce." Alfred smiled back, as he watched Batman drive off into the dark.

It had been tiring being Batman, but he had expected that, he had been up every night that past month, he had only been getting had around 3 hours sleep each night.

Bruce Wayne was Batman, Bruce Wayne is Batman

He took a sip of coffee as he drove.

He was heading off to a chemical plant, there had been a reported break in; apparently that red hood guy had been spotted there.

That little bugger, Bruce had had at least 2 reports about him each week since he began crime-fighting, and each time he had been eluded by this hooded man.

/

Jack tried to pull off the red helmet "No! I'm innocent!" He stumbled and felt a pair of hands paw at his chest, he fell backwards and screamed as he hit what felt like boiling water, he yelled for help, his skin was searing in pain. The air around his head was burning his face, he couldn't breathe, he heard a deafening hiss as the acid filled his helmet and flooded his brain, busting his eardrums and attacking his eyes.

Batman ran along side the acid pipe, following the screaming man. The police could handle the situation now, if Bruce let this man die he would never forgive himself, he had sounded so scared, he believed the man's plea of innocence. He followed the pipe out of the building, leaping out of a window he rushed to a shallow part of the river and leapt in to pull the drowning man onto the bank, he laid him on his side and pulled off the helmet, Jack started laughing as he realised that even though the helmet had been removed, he still couldn't see. Bruce recoiled in horror when he saw the man's face was bubbling with acid. He pulled off his cape and tried to dab the liquid off of the laughing mans face, but his skin was like melting cheese, he pressed the material against the man's lower face, but when he lifted the cape the skin around the mans mouth stretched and tore, sticking to the cape. Jack screamed as he felt his skin rip from his face, he felt faint, he could see, he couldn't move for the pain. He was on fire, and couldn't stop laughing: the perfect end to a perfect day. Bruce's eyes widened as the man fainted, he swore to himself, he didn't know what to do, he tried to calm himself, he couldn't let this man loose his life because he had panicked.

"It's going to be ok." Bruce whispered as he gingerly lifted the man and sprinted to the Batmobile, the man's injuries were too severe to just leave him for the police to find. "Alfred, I'm going to the hospital!" He yelled at the COM system.

"What? But Master Wayne, I thought we had decided it was a-"

Batman growled, "Not for me, this man, he's been burned." Bruce sped his way toward Gotham central hospital.

He lifted the man out of the car and carried him the door, which swished open as a couple of astonished and confused looking interns hurried to take Jack from him.

/

They rushed him to the I.C.U and treated him for his acid burns, they weren't able to stop the skin from bleaching or his hair from turning a horrible greenish colour, and although the 'rip' across his mouth healed well, his mouth was left larger than naturally possible and almost permanently smiling. But it could have been worse, at least he was still alive, and without infection. It was all due to the Batman. Jack had regained consciousness two days after being brought in. He didn't remember anything before falling into the acid, the doctors weren't quite sure why and pinned it down to traumatic stress disorder and treated him for that. He couldn't even remember his name, so 'John' was written on his clipboard.

"Ok then Mr John, hello's are in order, I'm Dr Smith," the young blond haired doctor beamed "I've been assigned to you for the time being, until you've regained your memory at least."

Jack rolled his eyes, "Well all I remember at the moment is _pigs flying_!"

Dr Smith flinched slightly at his patients oddly strained, falsetto voice, he chuckled lightly "Well you are quite the Joker aren't you? Now if you don't mind I'd like to give you a little check-up now." He walked to Jacks side and checked his pulse. "Joker…?" Jack smiled as he surrendered himself to the pokes and prods of the doctor.

/

"So have you found out who I am yet?" Jack asked the nurse that evening, she smiled "No, I'm sorry sweetheart, we're sending your prints off to the police to see if they have any records."

Jack frowned "Records? You think I'm a criminal?"

"Well John, you were brought in by Batman, that's the sort of people who he normally deals with…"

"Batman? He's the one who saved me? The one with the big ears?"

The nurse smiled "Yeah, he's the city's hero, and you're special he brought you in himself."

Jack smiled "So I don't know who I am, but whoever I am I'm special? Sounds like a crap after-school special…"

/

Jack sat watching the news, he had spent his time researching the man who had saved him, this 'Batman'.

"Hey Doctor Smith, how are you today?"

Jack smiled, over the past week he had built up quite a rapport with the Doctors and Nurses who worked with him. "Hello Joker, ready for another check-up?" Jack, or 'Joker' as he was now known as by the staff, lifted his arm so the Doctor could take his pulse. "I'd like to talk to Batman. Thank him for saving my life. Turning me into this monster… (!)"

"Batman's not the sort of person you can phone up. He doesn't just appear, but I'll see what I can do to get a message to him. Oh and I was meaning to talk to you about that," he gestured towards Joker, "it's not normal for someone to react the way you did, you've suffered severe physical trauma, and when you saw what had happened you laughed. We can give you plastic surgery to correct some of the damage."

Joker scoffed "What and ruin this beautiful mug of mine? I don't know what I looked like before, as far as I know this is my face, and I don't want to change it. But you'll try to pass on a message to Batman?"

The doctor stepped away from his patient, "I'll see what I can do."

/

"He's asleep at the moment." The doctor told Batman, as they came to a stop outside Joker's room, "I must warn you though, he looks rather, well… 'Horrific' would probably be the best word to use, but try not to bring too much attention to it, we're trying to keep him calm." Batman nodded and opened the door, as soon as he saw the sleeping man he was hit by a rush of guilt and nausea. The doctor was right he did look horrific, his face, oh that poor man and Bruce knew _he_ had caused this. He swallowed his disgust and placed himself at the end of the mans bed, he coughed gently to wake him. Joker blinked rapidly as he woke "oh wow it's you, I can't believe Dr Smith found you!"

"Just thought I should check up on you John."

Joker lifted his hand to shake Batmans, "Everyone around here calls me Joker, John sounded too samey."

"Joker" Batman smiled slightly, "suits you; you kind of look like a clown…" He clasped Jokers hand.

"I'd be offended if I didn't agree with you." Joker smiled.

"I thought you had memory loss, I'm surprised you can remember what a clown is." He took a seat next to Jokers bed, "Look Joker I am so sorry, If it weren't for me this wouldn't have happened."

Joker chuckled, "I get the feeling that if you hadn't intervened I would have been killed."

Doctor Smith slipped into the room, clipboard in hand, "I see everyone is getting on well. Umm Joker, I have some news for you. You remember that we said we were going to send off your finger prints to the police to see if you had any records?"

Joker nodded.

"Well… You don't have any."

"Records? Good."

The doctor shook his head, "Finger prints, the acid has eaten them off.."

Joker clapped his hands together, "Brilliant! So there's no way of finding out who I am?"

The doctor shook his head, "But it's a good thing, you are a nobody, you have the opportunity to become anyone you want, do anything you want. It's a whole new beginning for you."

Joker smiled, "even an astronaut?" He looked over at Batman, hoping to coax a laugh from the stoic man, he rolled his eyes what Batman didn't react.

Doctor Smith smiled as he read Jokers chart. "Joker I'm glad to inform you that other than your memory loss you are in perfect health, you're being discharged tomorrow. I have no idea where you're going to go, but that's the beauty of the American medical system…"

Batman looked up at the doctor, concerned, "Could I talk to you, outside?" The doctor nodded and the two men walked out of the room, Bruce gently closed the door "You can't let him out, look at him, if he walked into the wrong person he'd be killed."

"That's a risk everyone takes." The young doctor said sternly, he glanced down at his clipboard, "listen, his amnesia's odd, normally people forget everything; street names, what a cinema looks like. But he remembers everything about the city, just not his own life; family, friends. We'll put him in a secure environment until he gets his memory back but after that I don't know what he's going to do."

"Him getting his memory back doesn't change the fact that he looks like a freak, you know people don't respond well to things like this, not here. Can't you change his appearance to something more human?"

The doctor shook his head, "We asked already, he refused it, he really doesn't want to change back." He sighed sharply, "Look, Batman, if you can find a safe place for that weirdo, then brilliant, but I need him out. He scares the other patients; there are children here for god's sake."

Bruce frowned, "I think I know a place."


End file.
